How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices (2024)

Unless you pay for an iCloud subscription, Apple gives you 5GB of storage with any device's purchase. That's not a lot of space, and you can quickly find that you don't have enough room for your photos, iCloud Drive files, and other data from your phone or tablet.

You can upgrade your iCloud subscription, but it's cheaper to clear out space in your iCloud account. You can delete files, photos, app backups, voice memos, and more from your iCloud Drive directly on your Apple device or through the iCloud website.

Typically, these things and all their associated data get backed up to iCloud by default. This can be both a blessing and a curse, particularly if the things you want to be backed up take up a lot of storage space. But you can save a substantial amount of space by disabling automatic backups, especially when it comes to your largest apps.

You can also delete text messages and any of the videos or images attached to them. While deleting individual texts won't save much space, you can remove entire conversations and the media associated with them, which can help significantly.

Here's how to clear your iCloud storage and free up more space.

How to clear iCloud storage

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Delete photos from iCloud storage

By default, iCloud backs up all your photos and videos to the cloud. Over time, that adds up to a lot of pictures. You can save space by deleting any images you no longer want. It's possible to do this from your iPhone, iPad, or the iCloud website. As long as Google Photos is enabled, any pictures you delete in one location are automatically deleted everywhere. Here's how to delete photos from iCloud.

Delete files and folders from the iCloud website

1. Open iCloud.com in a browser.

2. Log in with your Apple ID.

3. Click "iCloud Drive."

4. To delete a folder, select it and then click the Delete icon.

5. To delete files, double-click a folder.

6. Hold down CTRL while clicking each file.

How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices (1)

7. Select the Delete icon.

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Delete unwanted files in iCloud Drive from your iPad or iPhone

1. On your iPhone or iPad, launch the Files app.

2. Tap "Browse" at the bottom of the screen.

3. In the Locations section, select "iCloud Drive."

4. To delete an entire folder, tap "Select" in the screen's top right.

5. Then, choose the folder and tap the Delete icon.

6. To delete files, open the folder they're contained in.

7. Use "Select" to choose files and delete them.

How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices (3)

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Delete app backups from iCloud on your iPhone or iPad

1. Start the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Tap your account name at the top of the screen.

3. Select "iCloud."

4. Choose "Manage Storage" on the next screen.

5. Tap "Backups."

6. A list of your Apple devices being backed up to iCloud will appear. Select the name of the device you are currently using.

7. In the Choose Data to Back Up section, you should now see a list of the five apps that take up the most space on iCloud.

8. Turn off the backup feature for any of these apps by swiping the button to the left.

How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices (4)

9. To see more options and disable more apps by tapping "Show All Apps."

10. Repeat this process for any of your other Apple devices from that respective device.

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Delete voice memos from iCloud on your iPhone or iPad

1. Start the Voice Memos app on your iPad or iPhone

2. Swipe a voice memo to the left.

3. Tap the Delete icon.

How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices (5)

4. Select "Recently Deleted."

5. Tap the recording you just deleted.

6. Choose "Delete" to permanently remove the voice memo, which will be erased on its own after 30 days.

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Delete text messages and their large attachments on an iPhone or iPad

1. On your iPhone or iPad, start the Messages app.

2. Locate a conversation that has attachments you want to remove.

3. Select the person's name at the top of the screen.

4. Choose "Info."

How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices (6)

5. On the Details page, photos should appear in a grid. Scroll and tap the "See All Photos" link below them.

6. Tap "Select" at the top of the screen.

7. Select each photo you want to remove.

8. Tap "Delete."

9. Go to the iMessage app.

10. Select the text thread you want to delete.

11. Swipe it to the left.

How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices (7)

12. Tap "Delete."

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Related coverage fromTech Reference:

  • How to manage your iCloud storage on a Mac computer and buy additional gigabytes

  • How to access your iCloud account on a PC in 2 different ways

  • How to access iCloud Drive on an iPhone with the Files app, so you can work on and save documents across your Apple devices

  • How to stop iCloud storage alerts on your iPhone in 5 easy ways

  • How to sign out of iCloud on all of your devices at once to keep your account secure

Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.

How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices (2024)

FAQs

How to clear iCloud storage and free up space on your iPhone, iPad, and other Apple devices? ›

If your photos and videos are taking up iCloud storage, then you can delete those items from iCloud. If, however, they still reside on your phone, they will just sync back up to iCloud. To delete a photo from iCloud, must delete that photo from all your iCloud connected devices that have iCloud Photos turned on.

What can I delete if my iCloud storage is full? ›

If your photos and videos are taking up iCloud storage, then you can delete those items from iCloud. If, however, they still reside on your phone, they will just sync back up to iCloud. To delete a photo from iCloud, must delete that photo from all your iCloud connected devices that have iCloud Photos turned on.

How do I clean my iCloud storage? ›

Delete files from iCloud Drive

You can also delete the files you have stored in iCloud Drive to get more iCloud storage. Go to Settings> Apple ID> iCloud> Manage Storage> iCloud Drive. You will see all the files stored in iCloud Drive. Swipe left and tap on the trash icon to delete the file.

How do I empty my iCloud storage on my iPad? ›

iPad
  1. Go to the Files app and open the sidebar.
  2. Under Locations, tap iCloud Drive.
  3. Tap Select, then choose the file or folder you want to remove.
  4. To delete the file from iCloud Drive and all of your devices, tap Delete. You can find it in Recently Deleted for 30 days.
Sep 21, 2023

Why is my iPhone storage full if I have iCloud? ›

The key takeaway: iCloud stores your data, but it doesn't remove it from your device by default. Downloaded movies, music you haven't streamed in ages, and those "just-in-case" apps can silently gobble up space.

Does deleting photos from iPhone delete from iCloud? ›

A: By default, deleting photos from your iPhone will not delete them from iCloud. However, if you have enabled iCloud Photos (previously known as iCloud Photo Library), deleting a photo from your iPhone will also remove it from iCloud and all other devices connected to your iCloud account.

How do I get rid of extra iCloud storage? ›

How to downgrade or cancel your iCloud+ plan on your Windows PC
  1. Open iCloud for Windows.
  2. Click Manage.
  3. Click Change Storage Plan.
  4. Click Downgrade Options.
  5. Enter your Apple ID password, then click Manage.
  6. Choose a different plan: To downgrade your plan, choose a new storage amount. ...
  7. Click Done.
May 29, 2024

Why is it still saying my iCloud storage is full when I have deleted a lot of photos? ›

Even if you delete photos, the backup might include other data that takes up space. Other iCloud Data: Apart from photos, iCloud may be storing other data such as documents, app data, emails, and more. These files can also contribute to the overall storage usage.

How do I make my iCloud storage full go away? ›

Reduce the size of your iCloud Backup
  1. Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud.
  2. Tap Manage Account Storage or tap Manage Storage, then tap Backups.
  3. Tap the name of the device that you're using.
  4. Turn off any apps that you don't want to back up.
  5. Choose Turn Off & Delete.

How to free up iCloud storage without deleting photos? ›

The way to remove data on iCloud is by heading to Settings> Apple ID> iCloud> Manage Storage> iCloud Drive. Then you can access all data stored on iCloud Drive. Next, swipe left and hit on the trash icon to delete the file. And this is how to clear up iCloud storage without deleting photos.

How do I delete everything from iCloud? ›

If you really want to delete everything there you'll have to go to icloud.com on your computer, sign into your account, then delete the data. For example, open Contacts on icloud.com, click on a single contact, press control-A to select all contacts, press the Delete key.

How to free up storage on iPhone without deleting anything? ›

Follow these simple steps and you'll be on your way to a less overloaded, more organized iPhone or iPad.
  1. Check Your Total Usage. ...
  2. Find Apps Taking Up the Most Space. ...
  3. Target Apps You Don't Use. ...
  4. Check Your Photo and Video Use. ...
  5. Remove Unwanted Music. ...
  6. Get (Rid of) the Message. ...
  7. Empty Your Browser's Cache. ...
  8. A Note About 'Other'

What to do when iCloud is full? ›

How to clear iCloud storage
  1. Delete duplicate photos on iPhone. ...
  2. Find old files in your iCloud Drive. ...
  3. Clean up junk files on Mac. ...
  4. Delete iCloud emails you don't need. ...
  5. Delete outdated backups. ...
  6. Delete messages and email attachments from iCloud. ...
  7. Empty all trashes.
May 23, 2024

Does iCloud free up storage on iPhone? ›

Your device can fill up quickly depending on the size of its storage capacity and how much content you have. If you see a message that your device's storage is full, you can free up space by using iCloud Photos or deleting content on your device.

How to free up space on iPad? ›

The two most common solutions to clear storage space on your iPad is to delete photos/videos from your photo library or to uninstall apps. Before you delete anything though, make sure that you know how to backup the files you would like to keep. For example, you can keep a backup of your photo library on iCloud.

What's the difference between iPhone storage and iCloud storage? ›

Device storage is the available storage on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or other Apple device. iCloud storage keeps your photos, files, notes, and more, up-to-date and available across all your devices.

Why is my iCloud full when I have nothing? ›

Before troubleshooting, you might want to know the reasons why your iCloud Drive gets full but no files in it, here are some reasons for that: Hidden files and folders taking up space. Deleted files still occupying storage. Application-specific data consuming iCloud storage.

Why is my storage still full after deleting? ›

When a file is deleted, the space used on the disk is not reclaimed until the file is truly erased. The trash (recycle bin on Windows) is actually a hidden folder located in each hard drive.

Does erasing iPhone erase iCloud photos? ›

Your content won't be deleted from iCloud when you erase your device.

Can I delete photos off my phone but keep them on iCloud? ›

Open Settings from your iPhone homescreen and tap your name. On the Apple ID screen, select iCloud > Photos. Use the toggle switch for Sync this iPhone to disable syncing. With the connectivity between iPhone and the iCloud disabled, you can safely delete photos from your iPhone.

How do I delete photos from iCloud to free up space? ›

How to delete photos from iCloud
  1. To delete a single photo, tap and hold the image until the pop-up menu appears, then tap Delete.
  2. To delete several photos at once, tap Select at the top right of the screen, then tap each photo you want to remove.
Aug 19, 2022

How to clear iCloud cache on iPhone? ›

Settings - icloud - iCloud drive - off, wait 10 minutes after that turn on again. All your cache files will be deleted. Settings - icloud - iCloud drive - off, wait 10 minutes after that turn on again. All your cache files will be deleted.

What is the point of extra iCloud storage? ›

Once you've upgraded your iCloud storage, you can use it however you like. It works on any Apple device as long as you've got an internet connection. There's even iCloud for Windows. You can turn on features like Desktop and Documents sync on a Mac to keep your Mac folders in the cloud.

How to clean up iPhone storage? ›

Open your iPhone's Settings menu, tap General and go to iPhone Storage. You'll see a list of your apps along with how much space each app occupies and the last time you used it. Scroll through the list and try deleting apps that you haven't used in a long time. Get rid of apps you haven't used in a long time.

How do I clear my iCloud storage without losing photos? ›

The way to remove data on iCloud is by heading to Settings> Apple ID> iCloud> Manage Storage> iCloud Drive. Then you can access all data stored on iCloud Drive. Next, swipe left and hit on the trash icon to delete the file. And this is how to clear up iCloud storage without deleting photos.

What gets backed up to iCloud? ›

Here's what iCloud backs up:
  • Purchase history for music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books. ...
  • Photos and videos on your iOS devices.
  • Device settings.
  • App data.
  • Home screen and app organization.
  • iMessage, text (SMS), and MMS messages.
  • Ringtones.
  • Visual Voicemail.

Why am I getting emails saying my iCloud storage is full? ›

It claims that “Your iCloud storage might be full,” and tries to convince the reader to upgrade to 50 GB of storage. However, the e-mail isn't actually from Apple. The e-mail contains links that could potentially lead to phishing sites or other scams, malware, or other potentially harmful sites.

How to get free iCloud storage? ›

Is there a free version of iCloud? Yes. The first time you sign in to an iPhone, iPad, or Mac with your Apple ID, you'll get 5GB of free iCloud storage. This allows you to back up your data and keep your personal information in sync across your devices and at iCloud.com.

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